


The Tickle Monster

by quartermile



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Couldn't help myself though, Gen, Humor, The Tickle Monster strikes again, Tony is afraid, and Steve is fed up, sorry - Freeform, this is lame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2774150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quartermile/pseuds/quartermile





	The Tickle Monster

It was something no one would admit to it happening to them. The residents of Stark Tower have been haunted by some force in the recent months, no one can explain it. No one has seen it. No one will speak of it. No one knows that the others also are being haunted by this thing and none of them want to be thought crazy for it.

So it remains a mystery. A quiet one that no one speaks of.

Until Steve Rogers has had enough. 

"Okay. What is going on?" He asks as he walks into the common area kitchen one morning. He's got his Captain America voice on, "Is it some experiment of yours, Tony?"

"What?" He asks, looking guilty though he has no idea what Steve is even talking about. It's early, or late for him. He's not been to sleep yet since Thursday. It's Friday isn't it?

"I'm tired of being tickled!" He exclaims in a tone that suggests he were talking about being attacked by an army, "I thought I was going crazy, or hell, even something that happens in this century that I didn't know about. But I had socks on last night and I woke up with them off and my feet were tickled!"

"Okay first off, Captain America just said _hell_. Jarvis, remind me to save that file," Tony starts, leaning in conspiratorially, "and second, that happens to you, too?"

"Wait? You get tickled, too?" Steve asks, his eyes widening a little. He'd been sure it was Tony's doing somehow. He lives with two master assassins, a demi-god who is only there part time, a scientist who is also the hulk, and Tony. The never serious self proclaimed genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist. He'd been _sure_ it was Tony.

Natasha and Clint have better things to do, Bruce isn't the pranking type, and Thor- well he's pretty sure Thor couldn't tickle someone if he tried. Sure he's as nice as a tiny puppy, but the guy doesn't know how to be gentle.

He's a bit alarmed now. That leaves him wondering who or what is coming into his room. At least he knows now that he isn't crazy. Tony has experienced it as well, and he can tell by the somewhat startled look in his eyes that the engineer doesn't know who it is either.

"So you guys, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, are frightened by the tickle monster?" Clint asks, laughing aloud, "Are you serious?"

"It hasn't happened to you?!" Tony demands.

"No, Tony. I'm not visited at night by the Tickle Monster. Does he also touch you in your no-no spots?" is Clint's teasing reply, "I sleep too lightly anyway."

"Shut up, Legolas," Tony says, "Nat? What about you?"

"It might have happened once or twice," She replies. uninterested in the conversation as she scrolls through something on her Stark Pad.

"Yeah, who would mess with Natasha?" Steve says.

"The Tickle Monster!" Tony exclaims.

"Are you really going to call it that?" Clint asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes! Thor?" Tony asks.

"I am unable to be tickled, Man of Iron. I am afraid I can not help you with your predicament. I could go to Asgard and ask Heimdall what he's seen?" he offers.

"No, it's okay, Big Guy," Steve says. It's not worth that much trouble.

"Science Bro," Tony says to Bruce, "Any idea what could cause something like this? Some kind of bio chemistry explanation?"

"No, Tony. A tickle monster has not been created in a lab. Though, I would love to know what's made it happen, too," he says.

"You too? Damn, who would tickle the hulk?" Tony says in astonishment. He's far from really afraid of the Hulk, but even he knows better than to mess with him. He is a genius after all.

"The Hulk, like Thor, is unable to actually be tickled by it, so it doesn't bother him. He actually finds the soft touch quite comforting. I, however, do not enjoy it," Bruce mutters into his cup of tea.

"Should we talk to Fury? Or Coulson? Maybe they know something? They work with alot of gifted. Or maybe it's some other wordly thing," Steve suggest.

"Captain, I can assure you, no creature from another realm has visited. I would have known and I would have warned you." Thor tells him

"So Steve, Bruce, and me all have been visited by this guy regularly? Hulk doesn't mind it, and Natasha has only once or twice. Thor and Clint have not? There's no pattern there!" Tony exclaims melodramatically. He doesn't like not knowing things, "It doesn't make any sense!"

-=-

"So I hear you guys have a tickle monster taking up residence in your tower?" Coulson says in a droll voice, though his eyes sparkle with amusement.

"How did you know about that? What do you know, Agent?" Tony demands, still refusing to call Phil by his name. He brushes off another bit of ash from the guantlet of his suit as he looks up at Coulson.

The Avengers had been called out earlier in the day for a mission. It went fast and fairly simple, just another set of Doom Bots, this time smaller but a bit stronger than the last. Though they had to report back to HQ for their usual debriefing, and Phil couldn't help but tease with this bit of information. Maybe he's mistaken, but he may _actually_ see a bit of fear in Stark's eyes.

"OH, um. Hawkeye and Black Widow were telling me about it," Phil replies.

Tony narrows his eyes, standing and letting himself tower over Phil. He'd never hurt the man, but he isn't against using intimidation to get information he wants, "You're doing it, aren't you?"

"I survived being stabbed in the heart by alien Mussolini, but I'm not able to sneak in and out of _your_ house to tickle your feet, Tony," Phil replies with a roll of his eyes.

"I can assure you, Stark," Fury's voice says as he walks into the room with a stack of papers - reports for the Avengers to fill out on the mission today, "Phil is here most nights all night. He has nothing to do with this figment of your imagination."

"It's not my imagination!" Tony protests, "It's not just me!"

Phil laughs as Fury rolls his eye, handing the stack of papers to Phil to pass out to them. Tony grumbles to himself the whole time about how Fury is an ass and maybe if he got something tickled he'd be happier.

Oh, Phil can't help but chuckle to himself, and wonder when on Earth this became his normal life.

-=-

Steve wakes up with the feeling of not being alone. That's something that never happens in his private quarters. No one encroaches on each others' private rooms. But he's not alone. He can feel it.

He stays still, not opening his eyes yet so he doesn't alert the intruder. Can it be an intruder? Jarvis has not given an alert. Maybe the intruder disabled him. It's happened before.

He mentally catalogs where his shield is resting on his dresser and how many second it would take him to get to it - one and a half - and where by memory are all of the obstacles in his room. Once he's sure he has a clear getaway, though he knows he'd immediately attack instead of run, he opens his eyes.

Oh.

He definitely was not expecting that.

There, hanging from the open air vent in the ceiling by a grappling hook, is one master assassin, frozen in apparent hopes that Steve is still too asleep to know whats going on. Steve finds that his sock is off and laying to the side, and a hand is outstretched toward it, a feather pinched between thumb and forefinger prepared to tickle.

The entire tower is woken by Steve Rogers loud, scolding voice at one a.m,"CL _INT!_ "


End file.
